Tie puller



J. A. DENTON Oct. 18, 1938.

TIE FULLER Filed Oct. 22,1956

' ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 18, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in tie pullersespecially designed and adapted to facilitate the removal and replacement of railway ties.

One of the principal objects of the invention is r to provide a tie puller which is extremely simple in its construction, although effective, reliable and safe in operation and easily handled and operated. More particularly, the tie puller embodying said invention is so designed that even 10 when it is positioned for removing a tie it does not present any obstruction to the safe and normal passage over the rails of a train. Hence, any danger of derailing a train or of otherwise injuring the same due to the use of the tie puller .5. is precluded or avoided.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tie puller which is so constructed so that it may be simply laid in place on the ties and engaged with the web of one of the rails, and yet when it 20, is operated to set up tension in the cables which interconnect the tie puller with the tie the tension on the cables will also be effective to securely and firmly hold the tie puller in position.

Another object of the invention is to provide 25 a tie puller in which variable speed and power ratios are readily available and this without complicating the construction of the device.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction, arrangement 30 and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which:

35 Figure 1 is a view in top plan showing a tie puller constructed in accordance with the present invention in operation in pulling a tie from a section of a railway;

Figure 2 is a view in section taken on line 2-2 40 of Figure 1, parts being shown in elevation for the sake of illustration;

Figure 3 is a view in vertical section taken on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a similar view taken on line 44 45 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the operating parts in a different position; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in vertical sec- 59: tion taken on line 66 of Figure 4.

' 2 Referring to the drawing and more especially to Figure 1, the reference character R designates generally a section of a railway track having the usual ties T and rails R and R 55 The tie puller embodying the present invention is designated generally at P and in Figure 1 is illustrated in one of its operative positions for pulling a tie from beneath the rails after the spikes, some of which are designated at S, have been removed. 5 The tie puller comprises a frame III which may have the general form of an angle iron, although its lower flange is arched or cut away as at H to provide clearance between the underside of the frame and the particular .tie which is being 10 withdrawn. The undersides of the end portions of the frame I0 rest on the tops of the ties which are disposed on the opposite sides of the tie being removed. Adjacent its ends the frame may be provided with suitable handles l2.

Integral with or otherwise suitably and rigidly connected to the frame is a pair of laterally extending spaced arms l3. The outer ends of these arms are enlarged or thickened and also suitably shaped-as indicated at M to better adapt them 20 to abut against the web of a rail in the space between the lower adjacent portion of the tread of the rail and the base thereof, as clearly shown in Figure 2. At their juncture with the frame 10 the arms I3 are enlarged or thickened and 2 apertured to" provide bearings I5 for the shaft iii of a double drum Windlass designated generallyby the reference character W.

The Windlass W comprises drums l1 and 18' which are rotatably mounted on the shaft l6 adjacent the bearing members in which the shaft 16 is supported. One of the end flanges of each drum is formed at its periphery with a ratchet wheel I9. An operating lever designated generally at 20 is provided and has an elongated handle 2| and a bifurcated lower end 22, the legs of the bifurcation designated at 23 being provided with openings through which the shaft l6 extends whereby to provide a fulcrum or mounting shaft for the operating lever. In between the legs 23 of the bifurcated lower end of the operating lever the shaft I6 is supported in a bearing 24 which is formed in an integral extension of the frame 10. Pivoted to the outside face of each leg 23 of the bifurcated lower end of the operating lever is an operating pawl 25. There is one such pawl for the ratchet wheel I 9 of each drum. For preventing retrograde motion of the drums I1 and I8 detents 26 .are provided, the detents being loosely pivoted on a short supporting shaft 21 mounted in bearings provided therefor in lugs 28 which may be cast or formed integral" with the frame Ill. Cable means is associated with the drums of the Windlass and preferably comprises a suitable cable of rope or wire designated at 30 and having its ends suitably secured to and wound or coiled about the drums I I and I8. In the bight 3| of the cable'an abutment member 32 is suitably secured and is designed to afford a better interconnection between the bight of the cable and one 'end of the tie to be removed.

For the purpose of limiting the distance to which the operating lever 20 may be swung in one directionthe lower portion of the handle 20 is provided with a stop finger 35 engageable with the frame ID as indicated in Figure 4 when the lever has been swung back through its idle stroke as far as it should be.

In using the tie puller to remove the tie it may be placed in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, that is, with the frame resting on ties disposed on the opposite sides of the one to beremoved and with the arms l3 engaged with the web of the rail as illustrated. The cable is then passed down under the railsv and its abutment 32 is engaged with the end of the tie opposite the tie puller. Then by moving the lever 20 back and forth the cable 30 is wound up on-the drums I1 and i8 and the tie is slid from beneath the rails. It will be understood that as the lever is rocked forwardly the pawls 25 engage the ratchet wheels l9 to impart a partial revolution to the drums l1 and i8. As the lever 20 is rocked back the pawls 25 idle or click over the teeth of the ratchet wheels l9 while the ratchet wheels 19 and their drums l7 and I8 are held against an unwinding movement by the detents 26.

The drawing illustrates only one operative position of the tie puller. Where a new tie is to be slid into place as an old tie is removed, the new tie is alined with the old tie and has one end abutting the same, as illustrated in Figure 1. If the tie puller is thenpositioned as shown in Figure 1 then the cable 30 must be of considerable length. A shorter length of cable may be utilized to carry out this operation by shifting the tie puller over to the inside of rail R so that the arms l3 engage the inside of the web of the rail R Such position of the tie puller isalso resorted to when removinglong switch ties.

In case a tie is very difiicult to remove and more power is required for its removal than is available by operating the puller in the manner mentioned the power ratio may be increased by having the cable 30 slide around its abutment 32 or travel about a pulley thereon and throwing one of the pawls 25 to inoperative position. In such case only one Windlass operates but the power available is doubled due to the cable action;

One of the important features of the invention resides in so constituting the structure of the puller that the part engaging the rail does not project up to the tread of the rail or overlie the same. flanges of the wheels are not interfered with as the train rolls along the track and over the entire puller. The handle 2| would have to be removed if the tie puller occupied an inside position.

Another feature of distinct advantage is the fact that the cables 3!) lead off of the lower sides of the drums l1 and 18 so that when the device is in use and the cable 39 is under tension the tension of the cable aids in holding the tie puller securely and firmly in position.

In connection with the features just enumerated, it is to be understood that the advantages thereof may be realized even though the particular means for maintaining the puller in po- Hence, the wheels of a train and the sition under the influence of the tension of the cables is varied. More specifically, While the arms l3 provide a structure having its own distinct advantages, it is possible to provide, in lieu of these arms, lugs or other structure on the frame which engage with the ends of the ties disposed on the opposite sides of the tie to be removed, provided such structure is kept below the plane of the active tread portion of the rail and is such as to respond to the pull or tension of the cables.

While I have shown and described one construction in which the invention is advantageously embodied, it is to be understood that this construction has been selected merely for the purpose of illustration or example and that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A tie puller of the character described comprising a frame adapted to rest on the ties and having means for securing it in position, a windlass including a pair of independently rotatable drums supported on said frame, ratchet wheels interconnected and having driving relation with said drums, an operating lever, driving pawls independently pivoted to said lever and selectively or simultaneously cooperable with said ratchet wheels, said driving pawls and said ratchet wheels being designed so that when both pawls are simultaneously cooperable with the ratchet wheels they will be effective to drive both drums on one stroke of the lever and will idle over the ratchet wheels on the opposite stroke, and said driving pawls being similarly operative when independently engaged with their respective ratchet wheels, means for preventing retrograde motion of said drums, and cable means connected to said drums and adapted to engage a tie and to be effective to pull it out under the simultaneous drive of .both pawls or under the independent actuation of either, said cable means having an intermediate portion traveling about an end of the tie when said cable means is anchored to one of the said drums and actuated solely by the other.

2. A tie puller of the character described comprising a portable frame having means engageable with the rail below the tread surface thereof to maintain the tie puller in position, bearings carried by the frame, a shaft supported in said bearings, independently rotatable drums mounted on said shaft, a lever pivoted on the shaft between the drums, said drums having ratchet wheels adjacent the lever, said ratchet wheels having their ratchet teeth facing in the same direction, pawls individually pivoted to the lever and selectively and simultaneously cooperable with said ratchet wheels, and a cable having its ends secured to and coiled about the drums and having its bight portion adapted to engage an end of a tie whereby when the pawls are simultaneously cooperable with the ratchet wheels the device may be operated to withdraw a tie rapidly and when only one of the pawls is engaged with its one of said ratchet wheels increased power is available to effect the pulling of the tie due to the cable action, the bight of the cable traveling around the end of the tie with which it is engaged when the cable is actuated under the influence of one only of said pawls.

JOSEPH A. DENTON. 

